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Golden: Top five Tuesday: NBA’s greatest shooters

BOSTON - 1990: Reggie Miller #31 of the Indiana Pacers shoots a jumper against the Boston Celtics during a game played in 1990 at the Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1990 NBAE (Photo by Dick Raphael/NBAE via Getty Images)

The latest installment of Top Five Tuesday is all about the shooters, as evidenced by this pic of one of the forefathers of the feathery touch, Jerry West.

So without further ado, let’s get to it. Here are my top five shooters in NBA history.
One thing before we get to the list. Old-school players like West, Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson, and Bill Sharman, were considered but since they played in an NBA that wasn’t about three-point shooters — which I took into consideration — it hurt their case because they really didn’t have a reason to fire away from 25 feet.

One day, I will post a list of best old-school shooters. Surely those guys will show up in the mix.
As for today, I encourage you to share your list.

5. Reggie Miller

Ask Spike Lee and the Knicks about this guy. It was always Miller Time in Indiana because Reggie carried this franchise on his back for over a decade.
He wasn’t particularly adept at taking the ball to the bucket but was still able to carve out a Hall of Fame career as primarily a perimeter player.
Miller’s career .395 three-point percentage isn’t as high as the others on this list because opponents sought to take the money shot away from him. He was still one of the most clutch long range shooters to don sneakers.
Witness his finest moment as a Pacer.

4. Steve Nash

Nash and John Stockton were pure point guards but Nash didn’t hesitate to stick with a three if he needed to. Nash made nearly 43 percent of his career three-pointers and hit 49 percent of his total field goal attempts while earning the reputation as a guard who kept his teammates involved.
From 2005 to 2011, Nash could make a case as one of the league’s most versatile players when he averaged 16.7 points and 11 assists, while making 44 percent of his triples.

Add to that he went 50-40-90 in field goal, three-point, and free throw percentage four times in seven seasons.
Since the league adopted the three-point shot in 1980, only six players have accomplished this feat. Three (Nash, Larry Bird, and Reggie Miller) are on this list.

3. Ray Allen

Allen wasn’t the always the top offensive option on his teams, particularly at the end of this career but he was pretty automatic from behind the money line. Of the players on this list, he probably has the second quickest release behind Curry.
His 2,973 three-pointers rank first all-time, 413 ahead of Miller.
Jesus Shuttlesworth famously came back and spanked his dad — played by Denzel Washington but his crowing achievement came when his three-pointer helped wrest away a championship from the San Antonio Spurs.

2. Larry Bird

If this was a list of the top all-time trash talkers, Larry Legend, Michael Jordan, and Reggie Miller would be ranked in the top 3. Bird is the sweetest shooting small forward, along with guys like Alex English and George Gervin, who barely missed my top five.

I went with Bird because he was such a sweet shooter who didn’t need to score to beat you. He is also one of the best interior finishers the game had ever seen, even if he couldn’t jump a lick.

Plus, he always saved his best shots for when it mattered most, then told you about it after it was over.

1. Stephen Curry

At age 27, he’s already the GOAT when it comes to shooting. Curry has made more contested three-pointers over a short period than any player I can imagine, and that’s saying something considering the guys on this list.
He has never shot less than 42 percent from behind the arc and that’s a great stat when you look at the sheer volume of three-pointers he is hoisting.

The one thing that separates him from the others on this list is his ability to do it so effortlessly in a variety of ways: off the dribble, catch and shoot, with runners or on a step back. Lost in all the triples is the fact that he is among the league’s best midrange shooters. He’s my favorite player to watch in today’s game and reminds me of the late Drazen Petrovic, except that Steph is a much better ballhandler.

ORLANDO – FEBRUARY 8: (L) Dell Curry #30 of the Charlotte Hornets and his son Stephen Curry sit with Mitch Richmond #2 of the Sacramento Kings and Drazen Petrovic #3 of the New Jersey Nets during the 1992 NBA Three Point Competition on February 8, 1992 at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBA via Getty Images)

You may have heard me say this before, but Dell Curry made 1,245 three-pointers in his 16-year career and isn’t even the best shooter in his own family. I’m sure he doesn’t mind ceding that title to Wardell Stephen Curry II.

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